This is going to hurt’ is based on Adam Kay’s best-selling book.¹ It’s autobiographical and Whishaw brilliantly portrays him.

The series is a searing drama about the brutal realities of a maternity ward. It revolves round child birth meaning a strong stomach is needed. Adam’s screenplay exposes NHS institutional bullying. He too was a bully with shocking treatment of a female doctor. His screenplay doesn’t take the opportunity to portray a ‘saintly’ Adam. This was unexpected.

Adam’s engagement party reveals that abrasive behaviour and boorishness are toxic if you want friends. He persuades colleagues to come to the party to cover up the fact he’s become ‘Billy No Mates’.

Unfortunately, the party ends in tears transforming into a shouting match with accusations and counter-accusations. Worse: it turns into a disengagement party with his relationship wrecked.

Episode seven ends with a Happy-Ever-After moment, which hints at a second series. It jars and is uncharacteristic of the principal themes in the series as a whole.

‘This is going to hurt’ is warmly recommended unless you’re heavily pregnant or nervous.

Note

1 For my 2017 review Book Review: Adam Kay~ This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor | Odeboyz’s Blog (oedeboyz.com)